We are all back up at Leopardstown tonight and there may be some Rats to be found! I'm not what sure what to expect from The Boomtown Rats but the few hits they've had may just be worth hearing. I Don't Like Mondays would definitely make my top tunes list and it never fails to put a pep back in my step when I hear it.

On the horse front we will be light on the ground as I've only declared two to run. BRUTAL has frustrated me with his efforts so far as he just doesn't seem to be helping Colin in his races. He never travelled at Galway yet still managed to finish 2nd without ever being in danger of winning! He needs to travel better through his races and hold his position and then maybe he will get his head in front. There's no question he has enough ability and whether it's basic immaturity or poor attitude I'm not sure yet but he keeps coming home from his races fresher than when he left so I'm thinking he just could be taking the Mick! Either way I've found him a small field maiden but as always he still has the Ballydoyle squad to deal with which is never an easy task.

Evan Daly gave KUBALI a lovely ride to be 2nd here last week and that convinced me that he was up to riding TOCCATA BLUE in the apprentice race tonight. He's a very genuine horse but isn't the easiest to handle and a similar ride from ET tonight will see him involved yet again. Evan is living the dream and race riding all summer before he goes back to school next month. I would have given anything to have been able to do that when I was in school, different times!

We as an industry need to attract more kids like Evan into the game but it seems easier said than done at the moment and I'm convinced that we have a huge problem coming down the line on the staffing front. The powers that be and all the players need to prioritise this problem sooner rather than later or the industry will suffer properly.

HGD